March 31, 2014

Good news, bad news: Julianne Beall retiring

First, the bad news: Readers of the Dewey blog the world over will understand how much we hate to make the following announcement: Julianne Beall is retiring from her position as an assistant editor of the Dewey Decimal Classification; today is her last day.

Juli has served as an assistant editor of the DDC since 1986. If my mental calculator does not fail me, that's 28 years and 4 editions (Editions 20–23: full + abridged + corresponding separates; Juli’s editorial work actually started with the 004–006 separate associated with Edition 19). During that time Juli has worked on the classification in many areas, including Tables 3, 4, 5, and 6; the 000s, 100s, 200s, 400s, and 800s; 330, 340, 610, and 650-680; she has also worked on parts of 360, 380, 640, and 740. (OK—so it would have been easier to list the areas she hasn't worked in.) For the 9 years before being named an assistant editor, Juli worked as a classifier in the Decimal Classification Division (now Dewey Program) at the Library of Congress—excellent preparation for her editorial work.

When I asked Juli some years ago which aspect of her work she liked the best, she noted that she liked it all, but that her favorite work involved DDC translations (and translators). She has worked closely with the Arabic, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, and Vietnamese translations. The Vietnamese translation is not only the last in that list alphabetically, but also the last in the list chronologically.

Juli has also been instrumental in shaping the development of all of the electronic versions of the DDC: Electronic Dewey, Dewey for Windows, and WebDewey, now in its second incarnation. For example, with WebDewey 2.0, she has been a tireless tester of the number-building tool and has often contributed posts in this blog with screenshots showing how to build complex built numbers, most recently her post on Crimean Tatars. (And while on the subject of the Dewey blog, Juli has been our most consistent blogger.)

Many of you know Juli from her engagement with you at various meetings and workshops-- conferences of the American Library Association (ALA) and Special Libraries Association (SLA) here in the United States, meetings of the European Dewey Users Group in (duh!) Europe, and IFLA conferences around the world. She has given countless presentations at Dewey breakfasts at ALA and (initially) Dewey Translators Meetings / (now) International Dewey Users Meetings at IFLA.

But now the good news: Juli is coming back to us, starting tomorrow, on a half-time basis. We have already been forewarned that we will lose her to month(s)-long forays abroad with her husband, but we are so relieved to know she isn’t just walking out the door.

We know you join us in offering Juli our warmest wishes on her retirement and our thanks for the many significant contributions she has made to the DDC over the span of an extraordinary career. Congratulations, Juli!

December 2016

OCLC

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